The Esoteric Significance of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra
Chapter One Volume One: The Sevenfold Inquiry into the Mind
Why does the Buddha teach the sevenfold inquiry into the mind at the very opening of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra? The purpose of teaching it at the opening is to break through the false and reveal the true. What is refuted in Volume One is the false dharma of the six-consciousness mind. Through seven rounds of inquiry with Ānanda, seeking where the deluded mind that delights in the Buddha resides, in the end, search as they may, they cannot find where the deluded mind actually is—there is no place where the mind consciousness resides. This shows that the deluded mind is false and illusory, not truly existent, telling sentient beings not to take the deluded mind of the six consciousnesses as the self and grasp it without letting go. Only by abandoning the deluded mind can one realize the true mind and recognize one's own family treasures; only then can one break through delusion and awaken, release the bonds of birth and death, and thereby attain great liberation.
According to the World-Honored One's exposition in Volume One, so long as one's power of concentration is sufficient, through deep contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and deliberation within meditative concentration, one can break the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) of the six consciousnesses, and further break the view of self of the seven consciousnesses and the five aggregates (pañca-skandha). Eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) and severing the three fetters is not really difficult; the difficulty lies in the precepts and concentration, as well as in contemplative wisdom. Receiving the precepts, cultivating concentration, and deliberating in accordance with the Dharma—these three should be practiced step by step in due order; then there is hope for eradicating the view of self, and hope as well for seeing the mind and seeing the nature.
Section One The First Inquiry into the Mind — The Conscious Mind Resides Within the Body
Volume One of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra tells how Ānanda was entrapped by a courtesan's evil mantra, and after Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, carrying the Śūraṅgama mantra blessed by the World-Honored One, rescued him, Ānanda wept sorrowfully and repented that his power of the Path was incomplete, begging the World-Honored One to bestow on him the initial expedient path of śamatha, samāpatti, and dhyāna whereby the Tathāgatas of the ten directions accomplish wondrous bodhi. The World-Honored One then began leading Ānanda and the assembly in the inquiry into the mind. The inquiry into the mind's location is to seek where the mind is; knowing where the deluded mind is, one can subdue the deluded mind and attain liberation. Because Ānanda had left home out of delight in the Buddha, the mind that delights in the Buddha is the deluded mind. The Buddha had Ānanda search for where the deluded mind is and whether it has an intrinsic nature of its own; then, after subduing the deluded mind, his practice would be accomplished.
Now it begins to inquire where the mind that delights in the Buddha, of which Ānanda spoke, is. This is the arising-and-ceasing deluded mind. In the end, Ānanda searched high and low without finding it, finally arriving at a conclusion: the deluded mind of the seven consciousnesses is not inside, outside, or in the middle of the material body. Yet the conscious mind is within the supreme faculty (indriya), together with the inner six sense objects, contacting the inner six sense objects and discerning them. The fundamental focus of the inquiry into the mind is to understand that the conscious mind is not material form; it is formless and without marks, and therefore cannot be said to be in any of the several locations—inside, outside, or in the middle of the body. Thus the conscious mind has no intrinsic nature of its own, and consequently no location.
The inner six sense objects are shadows, not substantial material form; therefore the six consciousnesses can contact the shadows of the inner six sense objects within the supreme faculty, but cannot specifically be located inside, outside, or in the middle of the body. If the conscious mind were inside the body, it could contact the substantial material form of the body. Substantial material form is the outer six sense objects, which the deluded mind cannot contact; therefore the conscious mind is not inside the body. By the same token, if the conscious mind were outside the body and could discern the body, then the body would have nothing to do with the conscious mind. The body belongs to the substantial material form of the outer six sense objects, and it is utterly impossible for the deluded mind to contact substantial material form. Only the tathāgatagarbha can contact substantial, essential material form; the deluded mind and the six consciousnesses cannot. Therefore the deluded mind also cannot be in the seven places such as inside, outside, and the middle.
Original text: 阿难。我今问汝。当汝发心。缘于如来。三十二相。将何所见。谁为爱乐。阿难白佛言。世尊。如是爱乐。用我心目。由目观见。如来胜相。心生爱乐。故我发心。愿舍生死。
Explanation: Now we come to the first inquiry into the mind. What caused the inquiry into the mind to arise? The reason for the inquiry is: Ānanda said to the Buddha, "It is because I delight in the Buddha that I am willing to abandon birth and death and resolve to leave home." Then the Buddha asked Ānanda: "When you resolved to leave home, it was because you delighted in the Tathāgata's thirty-two marks. With what did you see the Tathāgata's thirty-two marks, and who delights in the Buddha, and on account of what does he delight in the Buddha?" Ānanda said: "It is due to my mind and eyes. I use my mind and eyes to delight in the Buddha's thirty-two marks. Because my eye faculty saw the Tathāgata's superb appearance, my mind gave rise to delight; therefore I resolved to leave home, willing to abandon birth and death."
Original text: 佛告阿难。如汝所说。真所爱乐。因于心目。若不识知。心目所在。则不能得。降伏尘劳。譬如国王。为贼所侵。发兵讨除。是兵要当。知贼所在。使汝流转。心目为咎。吾今问汝。唯心与目。今何所在。
Explanation: The Buddha told Ānanda: "Just as you said, your true delight in the Buddha is due to your mind and eye faculty. If you do not know where your mind and eyes are located, then you cannot subdue your own weariness of the dust of afflictions."
For example, when a king is invaded by bandits, he must raise troops to attack those bandits and eliminate the hidden danger. But the troops going to attack must know where those bandits are before they can subdue them. It is the same with attacking and subduing one's own mind-bandits. What causes you to transmigrate through unceasing birth and death is your mind and eyes; the mind and eyes are the chief culprits of the faults and calamities of birth and death, and therefore they must be subdued. I now ask you: where are your mind and eyes?
The Buddha's meaning is that your mind and eyes are the thieves of afflictions, robbing your own family treasures; they can plunder the maṇi jewel of your own household, making you poor and wandering among the six paths, homeless and displaced, transmigrating through birth and death without end—all because of the mind and eyes. We must seize the thieves of the mind and eyes; afterward we can subdue the afflictions and return to the home of self-nature, no longer mistaking the thief for our son or the thief for our father, and not taking the deluded mind as our own master or as our self-nature.
The Buddha asked Ānanda: "Where exactly is the mind and eyes you speak of?" This is where the inquiry into the mind begins. The Buddha was having Ānanda find the mind that delights in the Buddha and recognize that this mind is the thief of afflictions; only then can the false master be removed and the true master found, thereby returning to the home of self-nature and sitting securely at home. The mind that delights in the Buddha is the illusory mind of the seven consciousnesses, subject to arising and ceasing—the domestic thief of afflictions that robs one's own family treasures; whereas the self-natured pure mind, one's own true master, has no delight, no liking or disliking. Thereupon the World-Honored One began the inquiry into the mind, asking Ānanda where his mind and eyes were. Hearing the Buddha's question, Ānanda began to search—this is the first inquiry into the mind.
Original text: 阿难白佛言。世尊。一切世间。十种异生。同将识心。居在身内。纵观如来。青莲华眼。亦在佛面。
Explanation: Ānanda said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One, the ten kinds of differently-born beings throughout all worlds all hold that the conscious mind resides within their own bodies. Even the Tathāgata's blue-lotus-flower eyes, which can be seen, are also on the Buddha's face."
"All worlds" includes all the inanimate worlds of the three realms, all Buddha-lands, and the great thousand worlds; in total there are ten kinds of differently-born beings. What is meant by "differently-born"? "Different" means variation and change; "birth" represents sentient beings. Sentient beings include bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and ordinary beings of the six paths; being a sentient being, one is not a Buddha. "Differently-born" means being born in a different class, at a different time, and in a different place.
Being born in a different class: for example, we are now reborn as humans; in the next life we may no longer be human but change to a different class of birth—it could be the ghost class, the hell class, the animal class, the asura class, the deva-human class, the śrāvaka class, the pratyekabuddha class, or a bodhisattva—none of that is certain. Changing the class of one's life is called being born in a different class. A sentient being is human this life and may have a deva body next life; this is called "differently-born"—having changed class, it is called a different class. There is also being born at a different time. What is meant by "different time"? For example, our human life is now a span of several decades; after those decades, the life ends and another segment of life-body is born. This is called a different time; being born again in another time period is called being born at a different time.
There is also being born in a different place. What is meant by "different place"? "Place" represents the three realms and nine levels. The three realms are the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm; the nine levels are the nine levels within the three realms: the desire realm is one level; the four heavens of the form realm—first dhyāna, second dhyāna, third dhyāna, and fourth dhyāna—are four levels; and above the fourth dhyāna heaven there are the four formless heavens, making nine levels in total. "Different place" means that sentient beings' places of birth differ. For example, one is now born in the human world of the desire realm; having attained the first dhyāna through cultivation, one may be born in the first dhyāna heaven next life. This is called being born in a different place—the place of birth has changed. A sentient being is now born in the desire realm; next life he may be born in the form realm or in the formless realm. The place of birth has changed; this is called being born in a different place.
Sentient beings have ten kinds of differently-born. The "ten" in "ten kinds of differently-born" is an approximate number, not necessarily a fixed ten. If the Buddha is included, the dharma realm has ten kinds: the ordinary beings of the six paths are six kinds, śrāvakas are one kind, pratyekabuddhas are one kind, bodhisattvas are one kind, and the Buddha is one kind. "Differently-born" does not include the Buddha; the Buddha is not differently-born, not a sentient being, and does not change or vary. If the ten classes are subdivided, they can be divided into many kinds. For example, humans can be divided into many kinds; animals, when subdivided, are countless; ghost beings also have many kinds; hell beings also have many kinds. The kinds of beings in each path are extremely numerous; the number of classes is only an approximation.
The highest position among differently-born sentient beings is the seventh-bhūmi bodhisattva. Eighth-bhūmi bodhisattvas no longer have the nature of the differently-born; they have already ended segmented birth-and-death (pariccheda-maraṇa) and have only transformational birth-and-death (parināma-maraṇa); the Ālayavijñāna is changed to the vipāka consciousness. The lives of bodhisattvas above the eighth bhūmi are not segment by segment; their lifespans are extremely long; they will not die this life and then be reborn into the next life. He has no phenomenon of being born in a different class, at a different time, or in a different place; therefore bodhisattvas above the eighth bhūmi do not belong to the differently-born. Bodhisattvas below the eighth bhūmi, together with the ordinary beings of the six paths, śrāvakas, and pratyekabuddhas, all belong to the nature of the differently-born, because these sentient beings all have segmented birth-and-death. But the arhats of the fourth fruit and those who have truly realized the fruit of a pratyekabuddha also have no nature of the differently-born and no segmented birth-and-death.
Segmented birth-and-death means that life is segment by segment. Human lives, segment by segment, may be several decades, several hundred years, or several tens of thousands of years; animal lives range variously from a few minutes, half a day, one day, one year, ten years, to twenty years; the lives of hungry ghosts are reckoned in kalpas, and hell beings even more so in kalpas—all are divided into stages. When the retributive feeling (vipāka-vedanā) of one period of time has been received, another segment of life-body is born to receive the retribution of the next period of time. This is called being differently-born.
Ānanda said to the Buddha that the conscious mind capable of giving rise to delight resides within the body; this is the first thesis he proposed. What is his evidence? He narrated: "Observing the Tathāgata's blue-lotus-flower eyes, they too are on the Buddha's face." Worldly people all say: "The eyes are the windows of the soul," meaning that the soul, through the eyes, can see the outside world, and the spirit and expression of the eyes reveal a person's thoughts and feelings. In fact, the spirit and expression are controlled by the manas, so what is manifested are the manas's thoughts and emotions. Ānanda at this time held much the same view. He said that the Buddha's blue-lotus-flower eyes, like those of sentient beings, are also on the Buddha's face; therefore the Buddha's conscious mind must likewise be within the face, within the body. The Buddha's eyes are called blue-lotus-flower eyes, shaped like a blue lotus flower, and are like the waters of the four great seas. The Buddha's blue-lotus-flower eyes are on the Buddha's face, so the conscious mind is within the body.
Original text: 我今观此。浮根四尘。只在我面。如是识心。实居身内。佛告阿难。汝今现坐。如来讲堂。观祇陀林。今何所在。世尊。此大重阁。清净讲堂。在给孤园。今祇陀林。实在堂外。
Explanation: "I now observe that my floating faculties and four dusts are on my face; the conscious mind truly resides within my body." The Buddha said to Ānanda: "You are now sitting in the Tathāgata's lecture hall; observe the Jeta Grove—where is it now?" Ānanda replied to the Buddha: "This great multi-storied, pure lecture hall is in Anāthapiṇḍada's Park; the Jeta Grove is indeed outside the lecture hall."
The floating faculties are the faculties floating on the surface of the body, visible to everyone. The surface faculties refer to the five faculties: the eye faculty, ear faculty, nose faculty, tongue faculty, and body faculty. There are four faculties on the face; the body faculty is not included here. On the face are the eye, ear, nose, and tongue faculties, which others can all see; they are all on my face—even the Buddha's eyes are on the Buddha's face.
Ānanda then drew the conclusion that the conscious mind is within the body and, by means of the four faculties on the face, can recognize and know all material form. The floating faculties are outside, so the conscious mind is inside; from inside, through the floating dust faculties on the face, it can see the outside. He used this evidence to prove that the conscious mind is truly within the body. The floating dust faculties are also dust. Dust includes the four faculties of eye, ear, nose, and tongue composed of the four great elements; the body faculty is also dust, a dust of material form; the manas belongs to the dust of mental dharma—it belongs to mental dharma, not to material form.
The Buddha used the lecture hall as a metaphor for the sentient being's material body: the conscious mind, within the material body, can discern and perceive the material world outside the body, including perceiving even the floating faculties and four dusts on the face—because the conscious mind is within the body. This is Ānanda's view.
Original text: 阿难。汝今堂中。先何所见。世尊。我在堂中。先见如来。次观大众。如是外望。方瞩林园。阿难。汝瞩林园。因何有见。世尊。此大讲堂。户牖开豁。故我在堂。得远瞻见。
Explanation: The Buddha said: "Ānanda, in my great lecture hall, what did you see first?" Ānanda replied: "World-Honored One, what I saw first in this lecture hall was the Tathāgata, because I was sitting opposite the Tathāgata; the Tathāgata sat in the seat of honor across from me, so I certainly observed the Tathāgata first. After observing the Tathāgata, I then observed the great assembly (the monastics) around the Tathāgata. After observing the monastics, I looked further outward and saw the Jeta Grove outside the lecture hall." The Buddha then asked Ānanda: "When you looked at the Jeta Grove, on account of what were you able to see? On account of what is there this nature of seeing, this nature of awareness?" Ānanda answered the World-Honored One: "World-Honored One, this great lecture hall has windows; the windows and doors are all wide open. Therefore, while I was in the lecture hall, through the doors and windows I saw the distant Jeta Grove outside."
Why did the Buddha use the question about the lecture hall to question Ānanda? The Buddha had a purpose: the lecture hall can represent the sentient being's material body; the doors and windows of the hall represent the sentient being's five faculties; the people in the hall can represent the form-dust matter within the sentient being's body; and Ānanda represents the conscious mind.
Ānanda, your conscious mind can see the Tathāgata and the assembly in the lecture hall, and can also see the Jeta Grove outside the windows. That is to say, the conscious mind can not only see within the material body but, through the doors and windows, can also see outside the body; the doors and windows represent the five faculties—this is the metaphor. Since you, Ānanda, in the hall can see the Tathāgata and the assembly, and can also see outside through the doors and windows, then your conscious mind should be able to see the material things inside the body, should be able to see the five faculties or the four faculties, and should also see the form dust outside the eye faculty—yet that is not how it is now! Below, the Buddha will explain one by one, refuting Ānanda's claim that the conscious mind is within the body.
Original text: 尔时世尊。在大众中。舒金色臂。摩阿难顶。告示阿难。及诸大众。有三摩提。名大佛顶。首楞严王。
Explanation: The World-Honored One, amid the great assembly, extended His golden arm and rubbed the crown of Ānanda's head. He told Ānanda and the entire assembly: "There is a samāpatti named the Great Buddha-Crown King of Śūraṅgama."
The Buddha then began to speak on the main topic. What is this main topic? It is the central theme within the Great Buddha-Crown Śūraṅgama—the tathāgatagarbha. The Buddha began to expound the dharma gate of cultivating the tathāgatagarbha. After Ānanda answered the World-Honored One's question, the Buddha extended His golden arm; "extend" means to stretch out. The Buddha's arm can stretch very, very long—this is one of the Buddha's thirty-two marks. Ānanda was far from the Buddha, but as soon as the Buddha reached out His hand, He could touch the crown of Ānanda's head. Even if Ānanda were at the very back of the lecture hall, the Buddha's golden arm, once extended, could still touch Ānanda's crown. This is called the Buddha's rubbing of the crown.
Samāpatti is a Buddhist term, an Indian word, representing samādhi. Samādhi is in one respect the ground of concentration and in another respect the ground of wisdom; to put it precisely, it is called the ground of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. What dharma is equally endowed with concentration and wisdom? The worldly dharmas of the three realms are not equally endowed with both. Apart from the Buddha's own mind that can perceive all dharmas, which is equally endowed with concentration and wisdom, no other sentient beings are equally endowed. Ordinary beings who do not cultivate the Path have neither concentration nor wisdom; non-Buddhists have concentration but no wisdom; śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas have more concentration and less wisdom; bodhisattvas have more wisdom and less concentration; the Buddha is equally endowed with concentration and wisdom.
Apart from this, what can truly be equally endowed with concentration and wisdom? It is the theme and center of this Śūraṅgama Sūtra—the tathāgatagarbha. The dharma of the tathāgatagarbha is called samāpatti, samādhi, the ground of the equal cultivation of concentration and wisdom. The tathāgatagarbha has both concentration and wisdom: He perfectly possesses all meditative concentrations and perfectly possesses all great wisdom. Moreover, this concentration is called the great Śūraṅgama samādhi, without exiting or entering. Since beginningless kalpas the tathāgatagarbha has always been in concentration, never emerging from samādhi; throughout beginningless kalpas the tathāgatagarbha has possessed all dharmas and all great wisdom.
Why is the tathāgatagarbha called constant concentration, samādhi? Because with respect to the myriad dharmas of the three realms' worlds, the tathāgatagarbha never stirs a thought. Although He can discern the inanimate worlds of the three realms and the karmic seeds, He never stirs His mind toward the dharmas of the three realms, never gives rise to thoughts; His mind-ground has no turning, and He is forever abiding in concentration—therefore He is called samādhi. What does the wisdom of the tathāgatagarbha refer to? It refers to His great wisdom by which He can give birth to all dharmas of the three realms' worlds. With this great wisdom, no worldly dharma can compare with Him or be mentioned in the same breath. All dharmas include giving birth to the Buddha's response body and transformation body (Nirmāṇakāya Buddha) and His reward body (Sambhogakāya Buddha), giving birth to the Buddha's five aggregates, giving birth to the Buddha's thirty-two marks, giving birth to the great thousand worlds of the universe, and giving birth to sentient beings' bodies of the five aggregates. This represents the great wisdom and virtuous characteristics of the tathāgatagarbha; therefore the tathāgatagarbha, equally endowed with and doubly possessed of concentration and wisdom, is called samāpatti.
As for the following words "named the Great Buddha-Crown King of Śūraṅgama": this samāpatti is also called "great." "Great" is a characteristic of the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha is also called the one true dharma realm. He encompasses all the myriad dharmas of the three realms' worlds, including the ten dharma realms, the Buddha-lands of the ten directions, the world-oceans of the ten directions, and the various banner-king kṣetras. All dharmas are entirely encompassed within the mind of the tathāgatagarbha; not a single dharma can exceed the one true dharma realm—therefore the tathāgatagarbha is named "great." What does "Buddha-crown" mean? When we look at each Buddha's crown, the Buddhas appear to have a crown of the head, but in fact the Buddha has no crown of the head; the Buddha's unseen crown mark has no crown. The unseen crown mark represents the Buddha's Dharmakāya, the Buddha's mind, and represents the Buddha's undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna). That is to say, the Buddha's crown is crownless; no one can see the crown.
Mahāmaudgalyāyana, foremost in supernatural powers, because he did not believe that the Buddha had no crown, ascended into space wanting to see the Buddha's crown, but could not see it. Unwilling to give up, he ascended again to the highest heaven to look, and still could not see the Buddha's crown of the head. Finally he ascended to other Buddha-lands in the worlds above, and then to many Buddha-lands in the worlds above, and still could not see the Buddha's crown. This shows that the Buddha's crown cannot be seen. The Buddha's crown represents the Buddha's true mind, the undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna); He is formless and without marks—how can the formless and markless be seen? Whether one has the flesh eye or the finest divine eye, one will not see the Buddha's crown of the head, will not see the Buddha's true-suchness mind. Therefore the unseen crown mark represents the Buddha's formless, markless true-suchness mind-body, the Buddha's Dharmakāya.
As for "King of Śūraṅgama": the "首" (head) represents the tathāgatagarbha—He is the head of the myriad dharmas of the three realms. Because there is the tathāgatagarbha, relying on Him the myriad dharmas of the three realms' worlds can be born. The myriad dharmas of the three realms all take the tathāgatagarbha as their head and as their honor; only then can the worldly dharmas, one after another, come into being. First there are sentient beings' minds of the seven consciousnesses; the seven consciousnesses' minds cling to the body-mind world, and the tathāgatagarbha accords with the seven consciousnesses' minds and manifests the body-mind world; thus the myriad dharmas of the three realms' worlds are born. Therefore the tathāgatagarbha is the head of the myriad dharmas of the three realms. "Śūraṅgama" is a kind of treasure; this treasure is hard and indestructible—no matter whose power, no one can destroy this treasure of Śūraṅgama. The King of Śūraṅgama is the king among treasures, representing that the tathāgatagarbha is the most solid, unborn and undying, never-damaged, never-perishing treasure within the worlds of the three realms. He is the king among all treasures, the treasure among treasures.
Original text: 具足万行。十方如来。一门超出。妙庄严路。
Explanation: Next, "complete with the ten thousand practices": the ten thousand practices also represent the tathāgatagarbha. "Complete" means the tathāgatagarbha possesses the seeds of all dharmas; because He possesses all dharmas, He can walk all paths. What paths can the tathāgatagarbha walk? He can give birth to the myriad dharmas of the three realms' worlds; He can give birth to sentient beings' five aggregates; He can, relying on sentient beings' manas and on their five aggregates, produce the myriad dharmas of the three realms' worlds. Cooperating with the manas and the five aggregates, He gives birth to all the dharmas the five aggregates need, perfectly completing the causes, conditions, and karmic retributions of the five aggregates. Whatever the five aggregates need, He can cooperate and manifest it, satisfying all the needs of the five aggregates to the utmost.
He can, cooperating with the five aggregates, manifest all dharmas of the three realms' worlds. All worldly dharmas are operated forth by Him; without Him there would be nothing at all—therefore the tathāgatagarbha is complete with the ten thousand practices. There is no dharma that is not operated forth by the tathāgatagarbha, no dharma that is not created by Him, no dharma that is not maintained and run by Him—therefore the tathāgatagarbha is complete with the ten thousand practices. He satisfies all the needs of sentient beings; everything sentient beings require is provided by Him—therefore the tathāgatagarbha is complete with the ten thousand practices. He is a truly great bodhisattva, forever the selfless and fearless great bodhisattva of loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity toward sentient beings.
"The Tathāgatas of the ten directions, through one gate, transcend—the wondrous adorned path": the meaning of this sentence is that the Tathāgatas of the ten directions, because of this samādhi, can rely upon this path of practice of samāpatti to ultimately transcend the fiery pit of birth and death, attain coolness of mind, and realize mahāparinirvāṇa. It means that the Tathāgatas of the ten directions, relying on this dharma gate of the tathāgatagarbha and cultivating this fundamental great dharma of the tathāgatagarbha, can thoroughly transcend birth and death and move toward ultimate nirvāṇa. The path of transcending birth and death and realizing great nirvāṇa is a wondrous adorned path. Birth and death here includes segmented birth-and-death (pariccheda-maraṇa) and also transformational birth-and-death (parināma-maraṇa); when both kinds of birth-and-death are eliminated without remainder, one can ultimately transcend birth and death.
The wondrous adorned path refers to the path toward liberation relying on the tathāgatagarbha. By studying the dharma of the tathāgatagarbha and obtaining all the secret treasures within the tathāgatagarbha, one can adorn the great bodhi path and transcend all birth and death. This path is extremely subtle and extremely adorned, leading directly to the ultimate liberation and ultimate nirvāṇa of the Buddha-ground—truly indescribably wondrous. This sentence points out the theme of the entire sutra: from a sentient being's first study of Buddhism to the final, ultimate attainment of buddhahood, this span is an adorned bodhi path—relying on the subtle principle-body of the tathāgatagarbha, with the subtle tathāgatagarbha as the center, one ultimately attains liberation. The Buddha inserted this one sentence. If this sentence were to be expounded in detail, in terms of the Buddha's wisdom it would take several kalpas—exactly how many kalpas or great kalpas is not clear. If one spoke exclusively on the nature of the tathāgatagarbha, perhaps even several great kalpas would not suffice. If this one sentence were fully expounded, this Śūraṅgama Sūtra might well be finished.
The Buddha's meaning in speaking this sentence is: "Ānanda, do not always take that deluded mind of yours—the mind that can delight in the Buddha—as real; it is not real. The real mind is this samāpatti, the Great Buddha-Crown, the King of Śūraṅgama. If you grasp hold of this and cultivate and realize it, you can transcend the cycle of birth and death. But if you, Ānanda, take your mind and eyes as your ultimate self, that is mistaking the thief for your son; the thief of mind and eyes will plunder your family treasures and keep you transmigrating in birth and death without end." Using the method of contrasting the true mind with the deluded mind, the Buddha told Ānanda not to mistake the thief for his son or for his father, not to take his mind and eyes as his ultimate Ānanda; there is, moreover, another true Ānanda—only by relying on Him can one ultimately transcend the cycle of birth and death.
Original text: 汝今谛听。阿难顶礼。伏受慈旨。
Explanation: After the Buddha finished introducing the dharma gate of the King of Śūraṅgama, He told Ānanda, "Now listen attentively"—"You now listen carefully, and I shall continue to explain to you." "Ānanda prostrated himself and humbly received the compassionate instruction": "humbly" means willingly, having subdued the self-conceit in one's own mind, expressing willingness to obey the Buddha's compassionate instruction and to believe and accept the Buddha's words completely. "Receive" means to accept. Because Ānanda had faith in the Buddha, he completely believed and accepted all the Buddha's teachings—this is called humbly receiving. Ānanda accepted and adopted all of the Buddha's compassionate instructions. Before the Buddha he had not a trace of conceit; he would never say his views were certainly correct, but constantly sought the Buddha's opinion, asking whether his own views were correct. Before the Buddha, Ānanda always voiced questions with an attitude of uncertainty; every time after stating his view, he would ask the Buddha: "Is what I said right or not?" This attitude of humility without conceit, of according with and revering the Buddha, is worthy of our emulation.
Unlike many of us, who clearly hold incorrect views yet never examine them, blindly believing themselves to be right, and then assert them to others with great certainty, even demanding that others must believe; if others do not believe or deny it, he becomes displeased—this is grave self-conceit and self-grasping. Ānanda was different: before the Buddha he completely and humbly received all the World-Honored One's instructions; whatever the Buddha said, Ānanda believed, without a trace of doubt. Before the Buddha he never clung to his own views as correct, but always sought the Buddha's opinion, deeply believing and accepting the Buddha's words and respectfully honoring the Buddha's teachings—this is what it is to be the Buddha's true disciple.
Original text: 佛告阿难。如汝所言。身在讲堂。户牖开豁。远瞩林园。亦有众生。在此堂中。不见如来。见堂外者。阿难答言。世尊。在堂不见如来。能见林泉。无有是处。
Explanation: The World-Honored One told Ānanda: "Just as you said, your body is inside the lecture hall, the doors and windows are all wide open, and through them you can see the distant groves and gardens. But there are also beings who, within this lecture hall, do not see the Tathāgata yet can see outside the hall." Ānanda replied: "World-Honored One, being in the lecture hall, not seeing the Tathāgata, yet being able to see the groves and springs—this is impossible for beings."
This statement is crucial, directly leading Ānanda to the contradiction in his own view, so that Ānanda had no choice but to admit that the claim that the conscious mind is within the body is wrong. The Buddha said: if the conscious mind is within the body, it should be able to see the five viscera and six bowels inside the body. It is just like you, Ānanda, in the lecture hall: you represent the conscious mind and the lecture hall represents the body; then in the lecture hall you should first see the Buddha, and only after seeing the Buddha can you see the groves and gardens outside. There has never been a case of one who does not see the Buddha yet can see the groves and gardens outside.
Because you, Ānanda, are facing the Buddha; behind the Buddha are windows and beside are doors. While looking at the Buddha, you then look at the windows behind Him and the doors beside, and only through the windows and doors can you see the groves and gardens outside the hall. Thus, seeing the windows certainly means one has first seen the World-Honored One, and seeing the groves certainly means one has first seen the windows. This metaphor shows that if the conscious mind is within the body, it should first see inside the body, and then, through the five or six faculties, see outside the body. The Buddha gave this metaphor deliberately to put Ānanda in check, placing him in contradiction so that he would admit his thesis was wrong.
The Buddha said there are also those who, within this hall, do not see the Tathāgata yet can see outside the hall. Upon hearing this, Ānanda immediately said that is not so: if a person is in the lecture hall, he must first see the Tathāgata, then see the assembly in the hall, and only then see the Jeta Grove outside the doors and windows.
Original text: 阿难。汝亦如是。汝之心灵。一切明了。若汝现前。所明了心。实在身内。尔时先合。了知内身。
Explanation: The Buddha said: "Ānanda, you are just such a person. Did you not just say that the conscious mind is within the body? Your conscious mind is perfectly clear regarding all dharmas, able to awaken to and know all dharmas. If this conscious mind of yours, presently able to clearly know all dharmas, is within the body, then the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, mind consciousness, and other consciousnesses should first know your inner body, knowing the conditions inside the body. Since the conscious mind is within the body, it should of course first know the five viscera and six bowels inside the body. If so, you should first see inside the body, and after seeing inside the body, then through the eye faculty see the form dust outside the body."
Original text: 颇有众生。先见身中。后观外物。纵不能见。心肝脾胃。爪生发长。筋转脉摇。诚合明了。
Explanation: If beings truly could all first see within the body and then observe external objects, then even if beings could not see their own heart, liver, spleen, and stomach, the growth of nails and hair, the turning of sinews and bones, and the movement of the channels, they should still clearly know some conditions within their own bodies. So why do they not know?
The Buddha said: do beings really first see within the body and then observe external objects? (In ancient language, "颇" generally carries the meaning of "very" and "extremely.") This rhetorical question indicates that there are no such beings. There is no sentient being whose conscious mind can see his own heart, liver, spleen, and stomach, nor does anyone know how fingernails come into being or how hair grows. If the conscious mind were in the body, it should be able to see these things; this shows that the conscious mind is not in the body. If the conscious mind were within one's own body, one could see the growth of one's own hair, see the heart, liver, spleen, and stomach, and see the turning of sinews and movement of channels; if the conscious mind were in the body, one truly should be able to clearly know these material forms—yet sentient beings do not know them.
Original text: 如何不知。必不内知。云何知外。是故应知。汝言觉了。能知之心。住在身内。无有是处。
Explanation: Why do they not know? It must be that the conscious mind does not know the conditions of the inner body. If it does not even know the conditions of the inner body, how could it know the conditions outside the body? Therefore you should know: Ānanda, what you said—that the mind capable of awakening to all dharmas, the mind that knows all dharmas, resides within the body—has not the slightest basis in reason.
This utterly refuted Ānanda's first thesis that the conscious mind is within the body. After the refutation, Ānanda would go on to put forward the next thesis—that is the second inquiry into the mind.
